In the Company of Friends

Excellent week! There's nothing better than beautiful scenery, a few dogs, and some great beer. I give full credit to the excellence to two of my best friends, Kate and Ben. They arrived last Wednesday and spent a few days in Boulder before I could drive over and meet them. From that point on, I don't believe I stopped smiling.
Boulder is a very cool city. It has certainly gotten a lot larger in the past decade, but it still has a nice small city feel to it. Pearl Street does remind me of Church Street in Vermont, it's just bigger. We walked around Pearl Street for a few hours, got some coffee, caught up, then moved on to Glenwood Springs.
It didn't take long before we got out to the dog yard. Kate and Ben are both big fans of dogs and my dogs are pretty big fans of anyone petting them. It's always so much fun introducing new people to the dog yard. People are either surprised at what incredible athletes they are, or they're surprised at how loving they all are. I say that these dogs are always up for some kisses and love, unless they have a harness on, then all they want to do is get to work.

Kate and Ben with Maverick and Pinks

As usual, I reveled in the opportunity to show off my dogs and my town. We went for a hike up Mushroom Rock with Maverick. The red dirt is so different from the landscape of Vermont; I had to bring a biology major up there. After the hike, Ben gave Kate and I some girl time. We went to the spa and vapor caves where we had a very giggly body wrap. It was my first time going into the vapor caves and I think it'll have to become a regular occurrence. They are natural caves within the canyon that steam up just like a sauna. A staircase leads underground, where the humidity instantly rises and the steam hits you like a wave. The caves are dark, quiet, and perfect for a little relaxation.
The following day, I drove them to Denver via the Scenic Byway: Top of the Rockies. We went up over Independence Pass (obviously a favorite of mine) and north to Leadville. Stopping for a picnic lunch of cheese, fruit, and bread in the famous mining town of Leadville, it became the perfect day. But wait, it gets better.

When we got to Denver, we went on a Brew Tour. The tour takes participants to four breweries within downtown Denver. Along the way, we get a walking history of the town and several tastings. This tour was certainly generous in its portions of beer, but none of us were complaining. Colorado is very invested in microbreweries and coming from Vermont, I can appreciate that. We went to Breckenridge Brewery, Falling Rock Brewery, Wynkoop Brewery, and Rock Bottom Brewery. By the end, we were falling out of our chairs laughing; that could have been because of the company more so than the beer. I highly recommend taking the tour, you'll get some good stories and some excellent beer.

I can only hope that future visits will go so well. I have missed my friends from the east coast tremendously and I cannot wait to have them all visit. There's so much to do here, something to appeal to everyone. I promise that if you come visit, we'll have a good time.